Election 2012

You know, I’m not naive, but talk of the 2012 election tonight even surprised me.

In a recent sketch on Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin made a joke about buying “Palin in 2012” tshirts before this current election was even over. At the end of the joke, she said you should wait until Wednesday to wear them.

Apparently no one got the hint.

I had to go by Walmart today, and I chuckled as I walked past the Christmas displays. For several years now, Halloween has become the marker for businesses to go in to Christmas mode. I still think it’s early, but oh well. As I walked past a Christmas tree, I wondered how long it would be before we heard stratagies for the losing side in this election as they looked forward to 2012.

I started to hear the rumblings by 8 PM EST. In other words, as the first polls closed.

I spent the evening watching Republicans throwing each other under the bus at an astounding rate, and by 1 AM EST I was hearing what sort of candidate the Republican party would need in four years as well as what they will need to do to their platform. This was followed by, “Well, our job starts tomorrow.”

-cue me banging my head on my keyboard-

I am 100% sure we would have heard the same from the Democrats had the tables been turned, but what I am thinking is… I’m tired. I am bone tired. I can not take any more campaigning and politicing at this point. I was almost angry at how I looked at tonight as a finish line more than anything else. I felt no excitement, no emotions other than relief at this exhaustive campaign being over. No more commercials. No more debates. No more press conferences. Just completion.

Both parties need to learn that the American people can only take so much of this. It is almost the equivalent of being held hostage by the political parties and the media. I wish whomever the Republicans run in 2012 the best of luck, but I really don’t want to even hear their name until 2010 at the absolute earliest. Let us rest, to catch our breath, have your one day of armchair quarterbacking, but let the American people rest… please.